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Hell Wyrm
Hell Wyrm is an optional boss in Final Fantasy XII. It is regarded as a prelude and counterpart to the supreme superboss Yiazmat. Hell Wyrm is fought in the Sochen Cave Palace, and the player must open the door to its lair with the Age-Worn Key. Hell Wyrm is also fought in the Trial Mode's Stage 87 in the Zodiac versions where Jade Collar (uncommon) and Excalibur (rare) can be stolen from it. Bestiary entry Page 1: Observations Stats AI script The attack pattern is different in Trial Mode. How to find To gain access to Hell Wyrm's lair, the player must have already defeated the Vyraal Hunt #21: "Get My Stuff Back" in the Balfonheim Port/Cerobi Steppe area. Once the hunt has been completed, the player will receive the key item Dragon Scale. Upon collecting the hunt reward, the player must return to Cerobi Steppe and search Windmill #10 (located in the Northsward) to trigger a scene with the Wyrm Philosopher who will trade the Dragon Scale for the Age Worn Key, which will open the Hall of the Wroth God in the Sochen Cave Palace. Hall of the Wroth God can be accessed upon solving the puzzle of the Ascetic Door in Destiny's March. The player must enter the circled junction area from the east, and open only the "Doors of Hours" going clockwise. Once the player has walked around in a circle a door opens in the distance. The door is at the dead-end at the west that leads to Hell Wyrm. Battle The battle can be abandoned at any time, and the Hell Wyrm's HP stays at the point where the player left it, but if left for too long it will regain health. Hell Wyrm can cast several high-level spells and use Stone Breath, which can deal around 2,000 damage to party members in range and has a chance of inflicting Petrify. Hell Wyrm uses Judgment each time it loses five bars of its HP, a cinematic attack that deals Holy damage and has a chance of inflicting Stop. When Hell Wyrm has 30% of its HP left it will only use Rake. Depending on the player's level, the attack can deal up to 3000 damage. When Hell Wyrm has 20% of HP left, it will only use Stone Breath, which takes longer than using Rake. Once he hits 10% Hell Wyrm only inverts a character's HP and MP and uses various "-ga" level magicks to deal area damage. Hell Wyrm's normal physical attack will have a 5% chance to incur instant death, but it will stop using physical attacks when it has 20% HP left. Hell Wyrm is weak against Holy-elemental damage and absorbs the Dark element. Hell Wyrm is susceptible to Oil. Strategy Level 55 or higher is a good level for fighting Hell Wyrm. One character can be a dedicated healer, who heals and revives and preferably wears mystic armor. Arise is the best revival spell, but Raise and Phoenix Downs also work. Party members using basic attack gambits should wear heavy armor and also possibly use supportive gambits, such as Self → Bravery and Ally: Any → Stona/Gold Needle. A "buffer" party member can also be useful, and use skills such as Ally: Any → Protectga, Ally: Any → Hastega, Ally: *party healer*→ Faith, Ally: *party tank*→ Decoy, and Ally: *party tank*→ Bravery. Bubble Belts are recommended. All characters should be equipped with a gambit to get rid of Stop, such as Ally: Any → Chronos Tear. Shell can be useful once Hell Wyrm starts to use Invert. Healing with items is often quicker than magick; X-Potions can work well if one has a large stock (it is recommended to unlock Potion Lore licenses for the characters that have them). Starting the battle with 99 Ethers helps. If a character's MP drops low, s/he may benefit from using Charge, or equip Turtleneck Choker. The party's healer can also siphon MP from the party's tank with the Syphon spell. Using the "break" technicks—Expose, Shear, Wither, Addle—to lower Hell Wyrm's stats, works well. The player can consider buying at least one of any armor piece that protects/immunizes against, or even absorbs, damage from an element. Hell Wyrm will use "-ga" magicks throughout the battle, so reducing the impact of such spells can save some MP or an X-Potion. For example, Demon Shields and Black Masks absorb Dark-elemental damage, Adamant Vests and Adamant Hats halve damage from Fire (but are weak against Ice), and Rubber Suits nullify Thunder-elemental damage. In the Zodiac versions, many accessories have gained elemental resistances, such as the Diamond Armlet now nullifying Lightning damage. The key to making good use of this tactic is keeping a close watch on Hell Wyrm's actions during the battle. For example, when Hell Wyrm is about to use Waterga (Aquaga in Zodiac versions), the player can immediately equip the party with Viking Coats to nullify the damage. The switch should take effect as long as the damage from the attack has not been displayed yet. The same is true for status effects, such as Blind or Sap. If Hell Wyrm is preparing to use Stone Breath, the player can immediately equip the party with Fuzzy Miters to immunize them against Petrify (although Petrify is not such a dangerous status due to its countdown giving the player time to heal it). Before entering the battle's final phase where Hell Wyrm uses Invert and "-ga" level magick, Hell Wyrm will, for a short period of time, be in a phase where it will use only Stone Breath. Equipping the "tank" with a Holy Lance can shorten the battle significantly. Excalibur, found in the upper levels of the Great Crystal, is Holy-elemental and is powerful. While it may seem like a good idea to hit Hell Wyrm with the Holy spell, this may not be wise as in the PlayStation 2 versions it fills the Effect Capacity delaying everyone else's turns, and even in the Zodiac versions takes a long time to cast. Equipping White Robes boosts Holy damage. In The Zodiac Age version, Knight/Bushi combination with White Robes and Excalibur is excellent for this. In the later stages of the fight, when Hell Wyrm begins using Invert more frequently, one should keep an eye on the characters' HP gauges. Hell Wyrm will mostly use his spells to damage, so typically, all active party members (within range) will be "targeted"—their names will be listed in red on the gauges. When Invert is used, only one character will be targeted, and the player can tell who that character is before its effects set in. Invert can be considered a benefit as it should fully replenish the targeted character's MP, and presents little harm if the player's team is quick in healing. The player should deactivate the Bravery/Faith and Hastega/Protectga gambits when Hell Wyrm starts casting Invert a lot; the characters need to focus on quick healing and attacking. Oil strategy Hell Wyrm is susceptible to Oil. The easiest way to inflict Hell Wyrm with Oil is to equip a party member with Nihopalaoa and use a Handkerchief on it, although the Time Battlemage's Oil spell also works. Using the Wyrmfire Shot on a gun when Hell Wyrm is afflicted with Oil can do great damage. The Gungnir is also Fire-elemental. Equipment with elemental affinity to Fire can be equipped to boost Fire attacks' power further. In the Zodiac versions, where the damage cap is removed, using a Black Mage or a Red Battlemage (or both) casting Firaga or even Ardor does excellent damage to an oiled Hell Wyrm (Red Battlemage needs to use an Esper to reach Firaga on the board). Black Mage can equip Flame Staff to boost damage. Burning Bow also works if the Archer job has been combined with a board that learns Firaga. The player can even bounce off Firaga from reflected party members to hit the Wyrm multiple times per casting, but the healer would need to wear an Opal Ring to bypass Reflect or use items to heal. The casters should be buffed with Faith, if available. Reverse strategy If the player inflicts the party with Reverse any harm or healing done to them will have the opposite effect. By using this spell (combined with Turtleshell Choker if the party has an excess of gil), one can temporarily nullify the Wyrm's ability to damage the party. If one party member is set to cast Reverse on the others when the status runs out, the player can breeze through the fight. However, Reverse runs out quickly and rapidly drains the caster's MP unless equipped with the Turtleshell Choker. Esper strategy The player can also summon an Esper to deal damage. This is more viable in the Zodiac versions where the player can directly control them. Ultima is obtained late in the game, but is Holy-elemental, meaning Hell Wyrm is weak to her attacks. She has innate Reflect but can still heal herself without the spells bouncing. The player could also summon Belias if Hell Wyrm has been oiled. The summoner can support the Esper or use Berserker Bracers and simply attack. Hell Wyrm will use Breakart Pentagram against Espers that heals heavy damage. Trial Mode Hell Wyrm is fought on stage 87 in the Zodiac versions with less HP. The same strategies can be used to defeat it, but it has some good equipment for stealing: rarely the Excalibur. Its attack pattern is different and now uses Ardor over Firaga. It uses magick all throughout the fight, and when the stage first starts stands still for a time so the player has time to gather their bearings from the last stage. Rewards After defeating Hell Wyrm, the player can meet up with Montblanc in the Clan Centurio Hall and be rewarded with 50,000 gil. Defeating Hell Wyrm also unlocks his sprite in the Sky Pirate's Den and awards the "Radiant Savior" trophy/achievement in The Zodiac Age. Other appearances ''Pictlogica Final Fantasy'' Gallery Ffxii-hellwyrm.jpg|Bestiary entry (BradyGames). Door in sochen.jpg|Hell Wyrm is behind this door in Sochen Cave Palace. WyrmPhilosopher.jpg|Penelo meets the Wyrm Philosopher in the Cerobi Steppe. Hell wyrm2.jpg|Hell Wyrm. Hellwyrm2.jpg|Hell Wyrm. Hellwyrmspecial.jpg|Judgment. Trial-Mode-Stage-87-FFXII-TZA.jpg|Trial Mode. Etymology Related enemies *Ash Wyrm *Shield Wyrm *Lindwyrm (Mark) *Ring Wyrm (Mark) *Fafnir (Mark) *Yiazmat (Ultimate Mark) *Tiamat (Boss) *Elder Wyrm (Optional Boss) it:Drago demoniaco (Final Fantasy XII) Category:Bosses in Final Fantasy XII Category:Superbosses